Chapter
2

The First Alchemists

In This Chapter

• Ancient alchemical manuscripts

• A gift from the gods?

• Thoth, the father of alchemy

• The mysterious Pillars of Hermes

• Secrets of the Emerald Tablet

• The line between myth and reality

The roots of alchemy are buried in legend and mystery; allegedly the earliest books on alchemy appeared all at once, as if they had been locked away for safekeeping and were suddenly released. At the beginning of the first millennium, all around the world alchemical principles exploded into human consciousness, and these same ideas continue to inspire us to this day.

However, alchemists point to the heavens—not books—for the origin of their craft, and ancient Egyptian writings seem to back them up. Three-thousand-year-old scrolls describe “visitors from the firmament” who came to Egypt and shared their knowledge of the universe, including the art of alchemy.

One document contains a succinct summary of that ancient wisdom. It was engraved on a green crystalline tablet that became known as the Emerald Tablet, and in this chapter, we use the Emerald Tablet to grasp the philosophy behind alchemy.

Lost Gems of Knowledge

The first known alchemy books appeared almost simultaneously in Egypt, Mesopotamia, India, and China over 2,000 years ago, and most modern historians date the birth of alchemy to that period. This was the era of the great library at Alexandria, and ships visiting the busy Egyptian port carried alchemical manuscripts around the world. However, those early writings quote even more ancient texts and refer to a lost tradition that goes back to the dawn of civilization.

All we can say with certainty is that by 300 C.E., the principles of alchemy were widely accepted by philosophers, priests, and craftsmen in civilized nations around the globe. Hundreds of parchment scrolls, clay tablets, and papyri existed that dealt with alchemical principles and processes. Yet, to this day, the true source of that knowledge remains unknown.

Although references to alchemical principles are found in Egyptian scrolls dating back to 1500 B.C.E., the original canon of texts from which those principles were derived has vanished. The early alchemy manuscripts that have survived are remarkably similar in style and seem to originate from a common source. All are written in a strange, convoluted style with obscure references to pre-existing concepts and are filled with secret ciphers and cryptic symbols for which no explanation is given.

The Gods of Alchemy

Despite the difficulty in pinning down the historical source of alchemy, the answer to the question of where alchemy came from is almost unanimous among alchemists. Most alchemists agree that their art originated in Egypt during a time known as Zep Tepi. In this tradition, alchemy is literally a gift from the gods.

Zep Tepi is an ancient Egyptian phrase, meaning First Time. It refers to an epoch over 12,000 years ago when divine beings arrived “through the Void” to settle in Egypt. The gods shared their wisdom and civilized the primitive humans.

According to legend, a contingent of godlike beings settled in Egypt and exhibited an advanced spiritual technology that enabled them to transform matter. These angelic visitors were the first alchemists; they practiced their art in Hormanouthi, a temple hidden near the Nile River.

According to hieroglyphic texts, the visitors originated from different levels in the firmament, and their bodies were more subtle than humans. Whether for purposes of breeding or out of sheer lust, the visitors were described as unable to resist the temptations of the flesh and desperately wanted to marry young women and have children. The results of these unions were described as giants who had dominion over the earth and its creatures.

Oddly, the idea of angelic visitors lusting after humans is part of many religious texts around the world. Genesis 6:1–5 describes fallen angels who wanted to have children with the daughters of men. In exchange, they taught men magic and metallurgy and how to make tinctures to capture the essence of plants. The story is elaborated in considerable detail in the Old Testament apocryphal Book of Enoch.

Who were these mysterious visitors to Egypt? Zosimus, the father of Greek alchemy who lived in Alexandria around 300 C.E., wrote that fallen angels who had children with humans taught mankind alchemy and “all the arts of nature,” and he insisted the legends predated history and were literally true. Tertullian and many early Hermetic writers spoke of this same superhuman race and their interactions with humans. The alchemist Clement of Alexandria said the visitors “laid bare the secrets of the metals, understood the virtues of plants and the force of magical incantations, and their learning even extended to the science of the stars.”

In an ancient Egyptian text called “Isis the Prophetess to Her Son Horus,” Isis begins teaching her son the principles of alchemy and tells him how she acquired her skills. According to her story, she had gone to Hormanouthi to learn the Sacred Art and met one of the visitors, who was overcome by physical lust for her. Isis agreed to satisfy his hunger if he would disclose the secrets, but he refused. Eventually, she met a visitor named Amnael who agreed to her demands, and Isis was initiated into the mysteries of alchemy.

According to legend, Isis, her brother and sister, her husband Osiris, and five similar divine beings settled at Heliopolis, which became the center for alchemy in Egypt. The myths of Isis and Osiris help explain the mysteries of alchemy and are retold many times in the writings of alchemists. We cannot determine whether these ancient myths contain any literal truth, but there is no doubt that the alchemists felt they imparted deep wisdom about the true origin of their craft.

THOTH’S TIPS

Over 150,000 books have been published on alchemy, and it is estimated that through history, more books have been written on alchemy than any other topic. If you’re interested in learning more, the books listed in Appendix A are a good place to start.

Thoth: The Father of Alchemy

Thoth was one of the godlike beings who came to Egypt during the time of Zep Tepi. However, there is an important difference between Thoth and the other gods of Egypt. Thoth exists on all levels of time and space, in heaven and on Earth and in between. He has always existed and always will. He spoke the first Word of creation, and all he has to do is name a thing to bring it into existence. Thoth brought the very first gods into being, yet he is content to serve both the gods and mankind. Thoth is the divine intermediary between spirit and matter that makes alchemy possible.

The Egyptians considered Thoth the first scribe, the inventor of language and writing who recorded the ancient teachings in hundreds of books. Because of this, Thoth is considered the father of many disciplines, including alchemy, mathematics, agriculture, music, magic, religion, science, and medicine. Most of the scrolls attributed to him were preserved in the great library at Alexandria. In the writings of Thoth, alchemy is presented as a unique spiritual science, a merging of science and religion that requires a balanced blending of heart, body, and mind.

Most often depicted as a man with the head of an ibis (a tall wading bird with a long curved beak), Thoth was also associated with baboons and apes, which is taken as a symbol of his divine mission to raise our animal nature to new levels of enlightenment. Thoth was known as the “Revealer of the Hidden” and “Lord of Rebirth” and was considered the initiator of human transformation.

One of Thoth’s scrolls from which fragments remain is called The Book of Breathings, which teaches humans how to become gods through spells and control of the breath. Thoth is also considered the author of The Book of the Dead, which guides the departed through the underworld into the light. It is said the lost Book of Thoth was written in his own hand. The script consisted of strange symbols that elevated the reader’s consciousness to directly experience the “presence of the gods.” The book revealed the true story of the creation of mankind and described an afterlife in the stars for those who followed his teachings.

The Pillars of Hermes

According to legend, Thoth preserved his canon of writings inside two great pillars just before the Great Flood inundated the world. Thousands of years later, the pillars were rediscovered. According to existing texts written by Egyptian priests, one of the pillars was discovered outside the city of Heliopolis, and the other was unearthed near Thebes.

The massive columns were covered with sacred hieroglyphics. When first discovered, they were referred to as the “Pillars of the Gods of the Dawning Light.” The pillars were eventually moved to a secret temple dedicated to the First Gods. Some texts indicate that this location was the Temple of Amun in Siwa, which is the oldest temple in Egypt. Only priests and pharaohs were allowed to view the sacred objects and scrolls.

Some evidence suggests the pillars really existed. Not only were they described in scrolls dating back to 1550 B.C.E., but they also were periodically put on public display and have been mentioned by credible sources throughout history. Solon, the Greek legislator and writer, studied them firsthand and noted that they memorialized the destruction of an ancient advanced civilization. The great historian Herodotus encountered the two pillars in a secret Egyptian temple he visited in 400 B.C.E. “One pillar was of pure gold,” said Herodotus, “and the other was as of emerald, which glowed at night with great brilliancy.” Because Hermes is the Greek name for Thoth, he named them the “Pillars of Hermes.”

The mysterious Pillars of Hermes were said to have been viewed by Alexander the Great, Achilles Tatius, Dio Chrysostom, and Laertius, and other Roman and Greek historians have described them in detail. In Iamblichus: On the Mysteries, Thomas Taylor quotes one ancient writer who noted that the two pillars were created before the Great Flood. The Alexandrian scribe Manetho recorded that the pillars contained 36,525 manuscripts written by Thoth, although it should be noted that this figure is the exact number of days in 100 years, which symbolized perfect completion to the Egyptians.

The Emerald Tablet

When opened, Thoth’s pillars were said to contain not only many priceless manuscripts, but also a marvelous artifact that has become known as the Emerald Tablet. The green crystalline tablet carried a succinct summary of the Thothian writings and outlined a new philosophy of the Whole Universe.

The priests of Amun kept the tablet and other texts in hiding, but its philosophy filtered down into other writings. Phrases from the Emerald Tablet can be found in the Papyrus of Ani (1250 B.C.E.) and chapters from the Book of the Dead (1500 B.C.E.), the Berlin Papyrus No. 3024 (2000 B.C.E.), and other religious scrolls dating between 1000 and 300 B.C.E. One papyrus known as “An Invocation to Hermes,” which dates from Hellenic Egypt, actually refers to the tablet: “I know your names in the Egyptian tongue, and your true name as it is written on the Holy Tablet in the holy place at Hermopolis, where you did have your birth.”

Not until Alexander the Great conquered Egypt and became its Pharaoh in 332 B.C.E. did knowledge of the tablet’s existence spread. Historical documents show that Alexander traveled to Siwa, where he retrieved the writings of Thoth and the tablet. He then took the items with him to Memphis and then on to Hermopolis.

The Emerald Tablet.

The Treasures of Alexander

The Pillars of Hermes were said to contain over 300 scrolls in addition to the Emerald Tablet, and reports indicate that Alexander moved them to the Temple of Heliopolis in 332 B.C.E. and put them on public display. Researcher Manly P. Hall found fragments of a letter from one traveler who had seen the Emerald Tablet in Heliopolis. “It is a precious stone, like an emerald,” wrote the man, “whereon these characters are represented in base-relief, not engraved into the stone. It is esteemed above 2,000 years old. Plainly, the matter of this emerald had once been in a fluid state like melted glass, and had been cast in a mold, and to this flux the artist had given the hardness of a natural and genuine emerald, by his art.”

Hermetic scholars believe that Alexander built the great library at Alexandria primarily to house and study the Thothian materials, and the writings of a scribe from the Temple of Heliopolis confirmed that view. His name was Manetho, which means “Gift of Thoth,” and he was one of the first scribes allowed access to the contents of the pillars. He wrote that the writings were more than 9,000 years old and contained the sum of all knowledge. Unfortunately, only a few of Manetho’s works survived the burning of the great library at Alexandria. Some of his letters to Ptolemy II survived, as well as one of his books, called Sothis. In that book, Manetho wrote: “After the Great Flood, the hieroglyphic texts written by Thoth were translated from the sacred language into Greek and deposited in books in the sanctuaries of Egyptian temples.”

Hermetic refers to the writings of Hermes, the Greek god and mythic alchemist associated with Thoth. Known for his ability to keep secrets, Hermes had the magical power to seal treasure chests so that nothing could get inside. Our term hermetically sealed (meaning airtight or impenetrable) refers to this ability.

Manetho wrote that the magical Book of Thoth, written in the hand of Thoth himself, was kept in a locked gold box in the inner sanctuary of the Temple at Hermopolis, and only one priest at a time was entrusted with the key. According to some historians, an occult brotherhood known as the “Sons of Horus” was formed before the Arab invasion of Egypt to preserve Thoth’s book and his other teachings, as well as the complete works of Manetho. The alchemist Clement of Alexandria was given access to the secret documents around 170 C.E., but that is the last recorded reference to this original material.

The Fate of the Emerald Tablet

When Alexander left Egypt in 331 B.C.E., he headed north to Cappadocia and Meso-potamia. According to some reports, he took the treasures from the Pillars of Hermes and stored them in an underground cavern in Cappadocia. Alexander went on to conquer all the remaining territory from Babylonia to India, but died on the return trip in 323 B.C.E. Alexander’s final wish was to be buried near the temple at Siwa in Egypt, but his tomb has never been found.

The legend picks up again in Cappadocia in 32 C.E., when a young boy named Balinas was exploring caves outside the city of Tyana and discovered the ancient texts hidden by Alexander. The precocious lad took a five-year vow of silence as he absorbed the materials and then sought out teachers versed in Hermetic philosophy to complete his education. He became known as Apollonius of Tyana and was renowned for his magical skills and healing abilities. He is said to have returned the tablet to Alexandria around 70 C.E. and made the enlightened city his home. He wrote most of his books in Alexandria, though he continued to travel the world, inspiring everyone he met with his great wisdom.

As for the Emerald Tablet, a few reports record it was buried for safe-keeping in a vault on the Giza plateau around 400 C.E., but no trace of it has ever been found. No one knows for sure if there is such an artifact as the Emerald Tablet, but several expeditions have been undertaken to search for it.

The Legend of Thoth/Hermes

In the history of alchemy, the line between myth and reality has always been blurred. To the Egyptians, Thoth, the father of alchemy, was a divine being, the custodian of all knowledge, and intermediary between heaven and Earth. However, several modern authors have looked at the evidence and concluded that Thoth was a real person—a survivor from the lost continent of Atlantis or even an extraterrestrial. Yet his mythic status cannot be denied. The Romans identified Thoth with Mercury, their winged god who carried messages between gods and men. In fact, nearly every ancient culture has some mythic figure that can be associated with Thoth.

To the Greeks, Thoth became Hermes, a priest, philosopher, and alchemist who lived in Egypt around the time of Moses. His Latin name, Hermes Trismegistus, means “thrice greatest Hermes” and refers to his unique mastery of all three levels of reality—the physical, spiritual, and mental planes of Earth, heaven, and everything between. He was viewed as a gentle teacher, much more accessible than Thoth. In fact, 13 manuscripts known as the “Corpus Hermeticum” are attributed to him. These alchemical and esoteric teachings from the Alexandrian period were unknown in the West until 1471, when the Italian astrologer Marsilio Ficino translated them into Latin.

Many alchemists believed Hermes Trismegistus was a real person who supposedly lived for centuries and traveled throughout the world. Because so many later authors wrote under his name, it may have seemed like Hermes lived for hundreds of years. Nevertheless, historical documents attest to his presence in Ceylon, India, and Babylonia, where the Arabs venerated him as the first person to have shared his knowledge of the art of alchemy.

The Staff of Hermes

The primary symbol of Hermes is the caduceus, and a strange Greek legend relates how he came to possess it. One day a Greek seer named Tiresias was hiking on Mount Kyllene and discovered two snakes copulating alongside the road. In an effort to separate the snakes, he stuck his walking staff between them. Immediately, Tiresias was turned into a woman and remained so for seven years, until once again he found two copulating serpents and separated them with his staff. At that moment, Tiresias transformed back into a man. The magical staff, complete with the entwined snakes, was considered too dangerous for anyone to use and was hidden in a cave on Mount Kyllene. The cave, marked by an upright stone phallus, would eventually become the birthplace and home of Hermes. While still a young man, he found the caduceus and eventually learned to harness its power for healing.

The caduceus is a staff with two serpents entwined in opposite directions around it. They were considered the most fundamental form and, because they shed their skins, were thought to possess the secret of immortality. The coiled serpent symbolizes the divine fire or reservoir of life force in the body. The caduceus is often shown with two wings, which represents the purified or ascended life force.

The caduceus bears a striking resemblance to the double-helix of proteins that make up DNA, which is the basic blueprint of all life. Several modern authors have suggested that this similarity is a clue that Thoth or someone associated with him manipulated our genetic structure to speed up human evolution within the last 40,000 years.

Today, Hermes’ staff has become the chief logo of the medical profession, and there are certainly more representations of the Hermetic symbol in the world today than at any other time in history. Scholars insist it all began with the Greek healer Asclepius, who adopted the caduceus to symbolize healing, though the connection goes back much farther to the original Hermes. The Ebers Papyrus, a 68-foot-long scroll that is the oldest surviving book in the world, tells us: “Man’s guide is Thoth, who bestows on him the gifts of speech, who makes the books and illumines those who are learned therein, and the physicians who follow him, that they may work cures.”

Hermetic Philosophy

The esoteric teachings of Thoth and Hermes make up the philosophical foundations of alchemy, and these ideas are summarized in the Emerald Tablet. Take a moment to read the tablet, and try to absorb its meaning before consulting any other sources. It often helps to rewrite the tablet in your own words. Nearly every medieval alchemist from Albertus Magnus to Isaac Newton had his own version of the Emerald Tablet that guided him in his work.

Perhaps the easiest way to grasp the principles expressed in the Emerald Tablet is by viewing them pictorially. Renaissance alchemists spent many hours meditating on the Hermetic symbols depicted in a stunning engraving called “Tabula Smaragdina,” which is Latin for “Emerald Tablet” (see the following figure). Created by artist Matthieu Merian, it was first published in 1618 in Daniel Mylius’s Opus Medico-Chymicum (The Medical-Chemical Work).

The Emerald Tablet engraving.

Let’s take a short tour of this engraving to gather some basic insights to deepen your understanding of the Emerald Tablet. The first thing you notice about this engraving is its sharp division into the Above and the Below sections. The Above is the spiritual realm of light and divine union, while the Below is the material realm of matter and duality.

Next, we see two great suns rising over the horizon. The larger sun in the background is the ineffable One Mind, whose rays encompass the whole universe. In front of this is a smaller sun known as “Mind the Maker.” This we can think of as the mind of nature or the physical laws of the created world.

“Mind the Maker” is an important and controversial Hermetic concept that would have gotten you burnt at the stake if you had spoken of it in the Middle Ages. It implies that the ultimate god does not directly participate in our world. Instead, the Word of God was projected into our reality like a template or computer program—what the Emerald Tablet calls the Pattern. In the drawing, these crystallized thoughts of God are represented by the angels embedded in the smaller sun.

This humanistic concept does not mean the alchemists did not believe in God. On the contrary, they sought to reveal and perfect the original divine light in everything. This is the true nature of the Great Work, and it begins Below in the duality of matter.

We see the duality of our existence in the division of the Below into left and right sections. On the left is the daytime realm of Solar energy and masculine symbols. On the right is the nighttime realm of Lunar energy and feminine symbols.

At the center of the Below is the hermaphroditic Hermes, who wields two starry axes. He has cut the chains that bind us to world Below and realizes the full power of the archetypal forces Above.

At the heart of the engraving is a bull’s-eye target depicting the One Thing of the universe. The seven layers of this sphere must be peeled away like an onion to reveal the hidden essence or soul of matter.

The Least You Need to Know

• The mythic origins of alchemy go back to ancient Egypt during a period known as Zep Tepi.

• Thoth is considered the father of alchemy, and his teachings were passed down to us sealed in the fabled Pillars of Hermes.

• Hermes is the Greek god associated with Thoth and was known as Hermes Trismegistus in medieval Europe.

• The Emerald Tablet is a succinct summary of Hermetic philosophy and alchemical principles.